T E S T I N G U N D E R R E A L L I G H T N I N G C O N D I T I O N S

Brazil
Test
Facility
Cachoeira Paulista
 Aims of the research
Cachoeira Paulista was specially built in 1998 in the state
Since the very first early streamer emission lightning conductors beca-
of Sao Paulo in Brazil as a dedicated natural and triggered
me available back in the 1980s, INDELEC has always placed conside-
lightning test facility. Construction was carried out on the
rable importance on proving the effectiveness of its products in the field.
initiative of INDELEC in partnership with the INPE (Brazilian
To this end, INDELEC forged close scientific and engineering ties with
Space Research Institute) and in collaboration with the
the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), who invented the triggering of
University of Toulouse in France, Hydro-Quebec (IREQ)
lightning discharges.
in Canada and the Campinas & San José Dos Campos
Research aims common to all the various test campaigns conducted in
Universities in Brazil.
Florida, France and Brazil included:
• validation of the PREVECTRON®2’s technical operating principal (trig-
2001 saw two further teams of research scientists from
gering according to how the electrical field grows ∆V/∆t);
France Telecom and their Brazilian counterparts Telebras join
• comparative lightning discharge events between simple rod conduc-
the site.
tors and the PREVECTRON®2;
• measurement of the current of the upward leader emanating from
From the outset, INDELEC’s teams of scientists and engineers
each type of conductor tip;
have been conducting a series of tests designed to compare
• a reliability survey of the PREVECTRON®2 by subjecting it to real light-
the performance of simple rod with that of early streamer
ning strikes (similar research is also being carried out by our team of
emission lightning conductors. A special instrumented struc-
researchers at the Nadachi facility in Japan);
ture was erected to hold the lightning conductors, as well as
• a demonstration of the precursor upward leader witnessed on the
a full range of measuring equipment, and was then subjected
ESELCs, but not on simple rods.
to strikes triggered at high altitude so as to allow the light-
ning to choose its own natural point of impact.

BRÉSIL
Brasilia
● Cachoeira Paulista
●
●●
Sao Paulo Rio de Janeiro

Location of the test facility Launch platform & conductor masts Rocket launch tubes Triggering rocket

Overview of the test facility

The Cachoeira Paulista test facility is located
within the INPE compound half-way between Sao
Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. This geographical loca-
tion (22°41.2 S, 44°59.0 W & an altitude of
625m) offers ideal tropical storm conditions.
Two experiments began in 1998:
• construction of an instrumented test facility desi-
gned to conduct tests under natural lightning on
both a simple tapered rod (r < 1mm), a simple fla-
red rod (r = 15mm) and two PREVECTRON®2;
• a lightning triggering platform fitted out with dif-
ferent types of instrumented air terminals. The
discharges are triggered using rockets which
trail a length of copper conductor with a Kevlar
insulated end section.
When launched in the right electrical fields, the
rockets will fly up into the base of the electrically
charged storm cloud and cause a “short circuit”
with the ground.
A downward leader then moves down the
conducting wire, ending its journey to the ground
freely and independently.
In addition to the rocket launch tubes, the test plat-
form comprises three lightning conductor tips
and is fully instrumented to allow both the low-
level currents of the upward leaders and the high-
level currents of the actual lightning strikes to be
precisely measured.
An electrical field sensor is also attached to one of
the masts at the same height as the tips.
To ensure that the measurements taken are
reliable and to avoid any electromagnetic distor-
tion due to the variations in the ambient electrical
field, all data is sent over fiber optic cable.
Several cameras are also present to help monitor
and record both naturally occurring and triggered
lightning events.
Hydro-Quebec installed a series of automatic
cameras which were triggered optically (lightning
flash) or electromagnetically (induction loop).
The fastest camera is capable of recording 8000
frames per second.
 T E S T I N G U N D E R R E A L L I G H T N I N G C O N D I T I O N S

Results 1998 – 2003

Simple rod PREVECTRON®2 S6.60

For the first time, video footage allowed scientists to see how the upward
®
leader develops from the PREVECTRON 2 while, in identical field condi-
tions and at the same instant, the simple rod exhibited no
discernable activity.
In both cases, the flashes were recorded over at least four frames, or
130ms at 30fps. The two images above were captured during naturally
occurring, non-triggered lightning conditions and clearly highlight the
truth behind the theory that the PREVECTRON®2’s ionization system
provides for the emission of an early streamer.
The data collected also allowed the precursor currents at the top of
the PREVECTRON®2 lightning rods to be measured and compared with
the activity around the simple rod. The graphs above show the shape
and amplitude of the current signals for both types of tip. The initial
pulses (low-level corona effects with no propagation) appear simulta-
neously on the PREVECTRON®2 lightning conductor and the simple rod.
However, the shape of the current around the PREVECTRON®2 then
shows the triggering of an upward leader, which then propagates until
the first return stroke appears (induction saturation).
During this time, the similarly sized corona around the simple rod
represent its vain attempts to trigger a leader.

Control station Inside the control station LSR-G triggered launch rocket LRS-A triggered launch rocket

1 > Control station,

LRS-A rockets
2 > Electrical power plant, compressed air supply & fuel tank, Speed: 150m/s
3 > Electrical field sensor (launch sensor),
Wire length >800m
4 > Hydro-Quebec experiment:
automatic video camera (natural & triggered lightning flashes) 75m away Conducting wire: 700m
5 > San Jose Dos Campos University experiment (INPE): Non-conducting wire (Kevlar): 100m
vertical element of the radiated electrical field,
6 > Caminas University (UNICAMP) experiment:
electromagnetic induction in a mesh cage,
7 > INDELEC lightning conductor test & measurement launch platform,
8 > Video camera operated from the control station (1) 50m away
9 > Hydro-Quebec experiment:
automatic video camera (natural & triggered lightning flashes) 800m away,
10 > GPS station (Cachoeira INPE),
11 > Geodesic mark,
12 > Isolated tree,
13 > Hydro-Quebec: video camera (8000 fps).
 Two concurrent Branched
downward stepped leaders downward stepped leaders
(taken from Hydro-Quebec video) (taken from Hydro-Quebec video)

In addition to these previously unseen images, the testing carried out under real lightning conditions provided the
following results:
A B C
The PREVECTRON®2’s basic operating prin- The data collected during the triggered The scientists were able to collect invaluable
ciple was verified and shown to comply with launches highlights the robust construction of tropical storm data over the course of each
the positive results obtained previously at the PREVECTRON®2 lightning conductor, test campaign, while INDELEC’s partners
Camp Blanding in Florida and Saint Privat capable of withstanding repeated high-intensi- pursued their research projects, involving
d’Allier in France: the PREVECTRON®2’s ty lightning strikes: the average current mea- - among others - the study of electromagne-
ionization system reacts automatically as sured in a lightning strike triggered at tic interference on overhead telecommunica-
soon as any sudden build-up in the electrical Cachoeira Paulista is 27kA (compared to just tions lines. Video footage taken using high-
field - synonymous with a downward leader 13.5kA in Florida over the course of the 1993- speed cameras has enabled researchers to
- is detected. 94 test campaign at Camp Blanding), with an collate an unprecedented series of images
average of 6 return strokes (greater than 3kA). and other information on the build-up of a
lightning strike (see photos of downward
stepped leaders taken from video footage).

Conclusion
The Cachoeira Paulista facility in Brazil means INDELEC
has been able to pursue its policy of testing its products
under real lightning conditions it began in Florida in 1993.
These test campaigns provide a host of invaluable infor-
mation in terms of both fundamental and applied research:
• even today, the uncertainty that shrouds the phenome-
non of lightning continues to fascinate the scientific
community. INDELEC regularly provides new informa-
tion collected over the course of each test campaigns,
thereby contributing to a better understanding of the
lightning phenomenon.
• the campaigns also form an essential part of the
company’s product development strategy. Testing
allows the PREVECTRON®2 range of lightning conduc-
tors and accessories to be fully evaluated and develo-
ped under real storm conditions.
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